Hero of Combat Outpost Keating Receives Medal of Honor

This afternoon, President Obama presented the Medal of Honor to Staff Sgt. Clint Romesha at the White House. Sgt. Romesha received the medal for his heroism in helping to fight off an attack in 2009 by more than 300 Taliban who threatened to overrun Combat Outpost Keating, in northeastern Afghanistan. For some reason, the Daily Mail web site seems to have the most complete account of the ceremony, and the most pictures.

Combat Outpost Keating was immortalized by Jake Tapper’s superb book The Outpost, which I reviewed–plugged, really–here. Brian Ward and I also interviewed Jake and talked about the book on The Hinderaker-Ward Experience. If you haven’t already read The Outpost, do yourself a favor and buy it. It includes the story of Clint Romesha, but Romesha, as he would be the first to tell you, is just one of many American servicemen who have demonstrated an almost unimaginable degree of valor in Afghanistan. Tapper wrote more about Romesha here, in anticipation of the Medal of Honor ceremony.

Sgt. Romesha in Afghanistan:

Eight Americans were killed in the day-long assault on Outpost Keating, along with vastly more Taliban fighters. (Romesha himself killed more than 10.) But today’s ceremony was not entirely grim. Romesha is now retired from the Army and is working in oil field safety in North Dakota. One of his three children peered out from behind the podium before the ceremony began: